Today's
education statistics are sobering. While test scores continue to
gradually improve, many ask if that is happening at a fast enough rate?
According to the New York State Education Department, "Statewide, almost
72 percent of the students who started 9th grade in 2005 had graduated
after 4 years, by June 2009."
However, among African-American students,
"The 4-year graduation rate increased from 45 to almost 56 percent
between 2005 and 2009." In New York City the graduation rate for all
students rose from 56.4 percent in 2008 to 59 percent in 2009.
However, there are schools that are bucking this trend and
providing students with the educational opportunities that they need and
deserve. One such school is The Young Women's Leadership School of East
Harlem. It's one of five schools in The Young Women's Leadership
Network. Other locations in the system include: Jamaica, Queens;
Astoria, Queens; Brooklyn and Rhodes, which is located in Philadelphia.
The
flagship East Harlem school was opened in 1996 and follows an all-girls
public education model. According to officials associated with the
school, the concept of this single-sex focused school for young women
was met with criticism in the beginning on why it was going to focus on
just one sex, and whether or not it could be successful. However, the
proof is in the numbers.
Since their first
graduating class in 2000, the East Harlem school has had a 100 percent
graduation rate in each successive class. Furthermore, it has been rated
as being in the top 4 percent of high schools in New York City. Beyond
the numbers there are four priority areas the school hones in on that
may produce the aforementioned results: Math, Science and technology;
Leadership, Health and Wellness and College preparation.
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SOURCE: The Grio
Shanta N. Covington
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